Happy? Are you?>

[The Happy Squirrel]

So heres the deal apexers.....
I am not really that Happy inrealize i am the happy squirrel the rodent of joy and all that jazz but im not happy
let me run it down for you
i have plenty of money <semi pro-oker player so i dont need to have a regualr job. I have a beautiful wonder ful child that i am an absolute hero to he adores me
i have a very wonderful beautiful girlfriend who i am completly headover heals in lve with, oddly enogh cause i dont fa,ll in love i have a nice home and a nice car a few a very few select but very specia friends, i ahve a very supportive family,

but i am not happy


WHAT AM I MIssing??
please telkl me. guide me direct me.


Am i just self loathing, self pitious, cry baby or what?

whjat makes people happy what makes them drive to thrive
i dont understnad i ahve had a few drinks and i have no inner monolouge when drinking but i figured i would spill on the annomous amigosd i have here the mask of annonimity is a grea tting in matters like this. What am i missing from life that is the key factor that makes oine happy???


ijust dont get itg..........

[redcolours]

drunken posting, i see!

but not to make light of your situation, i can understand UNhappiness.

you can possess all that you think people need to have to be happy, but as you can see, its obviously NOT making you happy at all.

dont ask WHY youre not happy, ask yourself WHAT do YOU truly want?

only YOU can answer that. We all have different wants, desires, needs. Sometimes we are blinded by what we THINK is what we need. This is usually imposed on us by society, or friends, or even our immediate family. Sometimes we dont even think about it, and we think its natural, that its the way of the world, and we should pattern our lives to it.

for example: what ive seen as a "pattern": a guy should find a career that earns a lot of money, find a girl to be his partner, get a house with a 2 car garage, raise kids, and live happily ever after, barbecueing in their yard with their life-long friends.

thats supposed to be the dream (i dare say its the "american dream"), but imho, its a nightmare that most people have to endure.

only because they try to fit their round selves in that square hole. its not gonna fit, and they will have a hard time adjusting their WHOLE lives.

Happiness is different with each person. For some its the joy of raising and loving their kids. For some its the perseverance in a career that defines them. For some its a dedication to a cause MUCH BIGGER than themselves. For some its a simple hobby done full-time. For some its travel. For some its surfing. For others its music.

ive asked myself this question plenty of times. i recall the times that ive been happy, and what i was doing then. When i looked back to these instances, none of them were the same things. I was happy when i was reading books and writing (prose, poetry, short stories, etc). I was happy when i was doing woodworking, and applying it to guitar repair. I was happy figuring out what and how to make all those sounds and tones that electric guitar gods have been recording with (tube amps, strings, pickups, tone woods, etc). i was happy when i was able to constantly surprise and delight my GF (the flowers for no reason, the plants i named after her, the poem i wrote and turned into a song for her, etc). I was happy when i went out to hike trails and outdoor paths, mountain climbing, etc.

i guess for me, its living in the moment that makes me happy. the past is the past, and the future hasnt happened yet, so why worry too much about it? There is a time for planning the immediate future, but ive seen plans go to ruin easily that its not worth it to be specific as to what i want to do when im 60. Ill probably be dead by then.

For me, NOW is what is happening. IVe found that each moment i dont live fully is a moment ive wasted. A moment i dedicated for doubt is a moment i robbed myself of happiness.

as far as each of us, we are on our own to find out what makes us tick. Its not what the other person has or wants that you should have, its simply what YOU yourself want. If you cant find it, you simply havent searched enough. So keep searching. Sometimes ive found that the search itself makes me happy.

good luck, man. im sure you'll find what youre looking for.

[cruelpupet]

...a sense of accomplishment


Start doing something even if its just a hobby where you have something physical for your efforts.

For example, once I move April 20th and have more space I will be buying the equipment to make mead (honey wine).

[gwilks98]

I know what makes me happy. Posting threads like this in softer side. :)

If you aint happy, you aint getting what you want/need. Figure that out and you'll figure out how to be happy. Sounds like you're trying to measure your happiness by another man's standards. Stop that.

[InfiniteNothing]

...
Maybe you need a new job. Something a bit more... productive.

[johnnymk]

Happiness is a warm gun
Happiness is a warm gun, momma
When I hold you in my arms
And I feel my finger on your trigger
I know nobody can do me no harm
Because happiness is a warm gun, momma
Happiness is a warm gun
-Yes it is.
Happiness is a warm, yes it is...
Gun!
Well don't ya know that happiness is a warm gun, momma?

[ski]

Volunteer.

I was in a similar boat... I felt like I had a lot going for me, but I wasn't complete. Then I started doing things for other people, and that is a real gift you give yourself.

Try it, it can't hurt too badly!

[ramazank2]

I would say travel more.

[The Happy Squirrel]

thats the thingi do do stuff for other people sometimes too much i just dont feel complete <no biggie this is what i call man man period i go through it every month for about 3-4 days> depression poor me type stuff


o well <hehehe i said doo doo>

[ialsohaveadream]

WHAT AM I MIssing??
please telkl me. guide me direct me.
http://www.suburbantumbleweed.com/buttsecks.jpg

[Napoleon54]

redcolors, that was a great post.

For me it's much the same, but let me address the question on more of a philosophical level. Regardless of what I'm doing and where I am and who I'm with, I find myself being a lot happier if I can just appreciate whatever happens to be around me at that particular moment. I think a great example of that is zippyjuan's fabulous photography posts. Each of us encounters wonderful things like that all the time but we just don't notice them. But it doesn't have to be at a beach or anywhere exotic or exciting. even in the most dismal or depressing places there are things to take note of and appreciate. Maybe it's the shapes of the clouds or feeling the breeze on your skin. Maybe it's the uniqueness of each individual brick that makes up a building. Maybe it's noticing the imprint of someone's shoe in the gum on the sidewalk. Even ugly things can be beautiful and/or interesting if you choose to see them that way. Each one of us has the ability to appreciate the uniqueness of everything around us all the time. The world is full of beauty and wonderful things, but I think a lot of the time people become numb to them because to some degree it's routine or overwhelming. We become saturated with it and forget to notice. How often do you walk past the pretty flowers in the grocery store without stopping to smell them or notice their beauty? The truth is, every second of life is unique and different and full of potential- potential to be appreciated. Just look around you and try to imagine what it'd be like to be blind, notice all the boring stuff that you'd miss seeing if you couldn't see anymore. Or the sounds you couldn't hear if you were deaf. Now imagine everything you'd miss if you were dead and couldn't percieve any of it at all... think of all you'd be missing.